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“Are you sure you don’t want me to go upstairs with you?” Ben asked.
Alex shook her head. “At least one officer is posted there. I’ll be safe. But thanks.”
“Bethany, you come with Nathan and me,” Monty said. “We’ll check out the Washington and Madison dorms. The training class was housed in Washington, so someone could still be there. Robin, Todd, check the gym, the pool, and the weight room. I need everyone back here within forty-five minutes.” His gaze scanned the team. “Call me if you find anything or have any questions.”
Monty looked around. “Where’s Julie?”
“She was here a little while ago,” Ben said. “She doesn’t know what’s going on.”
“Okay. We’ll find her as we’re looking for Kaely and bring her up to speed.” Monty frowned at the group. “Any questions?”
No one said anything. Monty hesitated for a moment, then said, “Okay, everyone. Let’s get going.”
Alex started to leave but then stopped. “Could you get the car, Ben? You could be warming it up instead of waiting around down here. I’ll catch up to you.”
“I’ll get one of the officers to meet you in the parking lot,” Monty told Ben. “He’ll get you an SUV.”
Ben nodded. “Okay.” He turned and headed out.
Alex hurried to the elevator. She really did intend to quickly check out all the second-floor rooms again, but she also had something else in mind. She needed a few minutes to herself, without anyone else around. When she got out of the elevator, she told Driscoll she had permission to go to her room.
“Have all the rooms been gone through yet?” she asked him.
“We’ve searched every single one,” Shawn said. “They’re good.”
“Okay. Thanks. I need my coat, and I want to take a look around our room one more time to make sure we didn’t miss anything. You’ve probably heard Agent Quinn is missing.”
Driscoll frowned. “Okay, but make it quick. There really shouldn’t be anyone up here until the floor is officially cleared.”
“I understand. I won’t be long.” She felt a little guilty deciding not to look through the other rooms for Kaely after all, but she was confident the officers had done a good job. Besides, something told her Kaely wasn’t in the building.
She’d just finished talking to Driscoll when the elevator doors opened and a man with a medical bag stepped off. He was with two other people wearing jackets that identified them as being from the medical examiner’s office.
“Sorry we took so long,” the man with the bag said. “The snow slowed us down.” He was clearly in charge and obviously the ME. “Where’s our victim?” he asked.
Driscoll turned his attention to him while Alex rushed to her room. This was taking too long.
After she pulled the door shut, she did a quick search of the room. Nothing told her where Kaely was. Then she grabbed the files on the table, the ones Kaely had been going through. She took a deep breath and sat down. “God, I need You to show me the truth,” she prayed out loud. “Please help me find Kaely. And please, Lord, keep her safe.” What was that Scripture she’d heard in church? “Your Word says You give Your angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways, so I’m believing that Your angels are with her. Watching over her. And over me right now.” She had to believe that God would protect her, and that she wouldn’t see the dark image that had appeared the last time she’d tried this.
She calmed herself and stared at the chair on the other side of the table. She knew how little time she had. Could she do this? And could she do it in time?
“Okay, we know you’re angry. Most of what you’ve done so far was directed at John Davis. But you’re continuing to kill. And you’re taking chances. Why? If you really cared only about Davis...” She paused as something popped into her mind. “Maybe you really don’t care about these other killings. They’re just ... incidental. You are just using them to direct our attention away from the first killing.” Although she’d suggested this before, no one had really explored the possibility. As Alex tried to see the case in a new way, something Sherlock Holmes said drifted into her thoughts. “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
Alex didn’t see anyone in the chair across from her. Maybe her imagination wasn’t as vivid as Kaely’s. But she suddenly knew what had been bothering her about this case. She took another minute to consider the possibility. Could it be? Why hadn’t she seen this before?
She took her phone out of her pocket and called Logan. He didn’t answer, so she sent him a text, asking him to meet her in the food court. Then she grabbed her coat and started to leave the room. But at the last second, she turned back and removed her vest from her go bag. After slipping it on and adjusting her holster, she left the room, took the elevator to the first floor, and jogged to the food court to wait for Logan.
